Please Subscribe!

Google Chrome, there it was, a copy of the same comic book announcing THE search company’s foray into the browser market, was for sale on eBay. Not only was this rare find, only given to Google employees or special contest winners, up for sale, the auction was scheduled to end some time around 11:30 on a Saturday evening, traditionally a low traffic time meaning lower final value on eBay.

While some copies of Google Chrome had fetched over $1,500, this one, only 6 hours from auction end when discovered, had a current bid of only $34. Thus began the mental process of valuation, and eventual profit, in my mind. After thinking about it for a while and waiting to hear back on my inquiry to the seller, I put in a bid of $105.03 bringing the current bid up to only $35. I was sure to get this one. As I checked the counter at the bottom of the auction, only 65 people even knew about this item and it was ending at a time when most people would either be out partying or asleep for an early rise to make it to church on Sunday morning, they certainly wouldn’t be doing business on eBay.

I went to bed about an hour before auction end, confidently thinking I would be the proud owner of this new rarity when I woke in the morning.

Come Sunday morning I was a bit short of breath as I raced to boot up my laptop and see how much Google Chrome ended up costing me. Zero…what?…OUTBID! Son of a biscuit-head, how did that happen? Someone bid $150 when I wasn’t watching.

I sat in stunned silence for a few minutes. My hopes of owning a rare piece of Internet history, for a steal no less, were dashed. Someone else now owned my Google Chrome comic book!

After several more minutes my blood pressure returned to normal and a barley visible smile broke out on my face that was quite a bit larger on the inside when the realization struck, so this is what eBay does to people.